For many years the takeout food industry has been growing and a larger and larger percentage of beverages such as coffee, tea, juices and carbonated drinks are served in paper or plastic cups with a plastic snap-on cover. Usually the beverage is consumed by removing the cover or by sipping through a straw which penetrates the cover through crossed slot openings or punch-out openings dimensioned to receive the straw.
In the case of hot beverages such as coffee or tea, the cover is usually removed. When the consumer of a hot beverage intends to drink the beverage under conditions in which the beverage may spill, e.g. in a moving vehicle, the removal of the cover becomes an invitation to spillage, and if the consumer is the driver of the vehicle, perhaps a dangerous condition presented. The driver may be distracted by beverage spillage and fail to pay attention to the act of driving.
Some drivers tear a triangular opening in the edge of the plastic cup lid, and some plastic cover manufacturers have produced such triangular or pie-shaped openings in their lids.
Probably the most satisfactory cup for use by a driver of a vehicle is the permanently covered plastic cup with a spring-loaded closure opened by a push button or trigger. Such a device, however is not adaptable to a single use cup and lid.